Forgotten Memories
by PrinceyAtNight28
Summary: When Dr. Eggman captures Sonic and the gang, he reveals that he has big plans for our blue hero. Dr. Eggman sends Sonic somewhere he had never wanted to revisit. Dr. Eggman sends Sonic somewhere he is fragile and powerless. Dr. Eggman sends Sonic back to his childhood.
1. Prologue

_**Forgotten Memories…**_

_**Prologue**_

_**By: Soniclover28**_

Sonic's eyes blinked themselves open, trying to adjust to the intense light that shone on his face. He groaned from the throbbing in his head. He sat up, and groggily looked around.

Sonic tried rubbing his head, but stopped as he heard the jingle of chains. He looked down, confused, and realized that his hands and feet were confined in capsule-like handcuffs.

Another key thing he noticed was that his friends were unconscious around him, in the same restraints he wore. Sonic stood up, stretching his stiff limbs and inspecting the area he was in. He found that he was in a giant capsule of some kind, and he huffed in frustration when he recognized the backside of Dr. Eggman hunched over a desk not too far away.

Sonic quietly prodded his three friends awake, and they all stared in confusion around them.

"Where… are we?" Amy yawned, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

This caught the mad scientist's attention, and he turned to face the groggy mobians.

"My, what a surprise," He snickered, "You're finally awake. I would have thought you'd all stay out for a least a couple more hours, but it seems I miscalculated the doses of the hypnotics I used."

"'Miscalculated?' You seem to be doing that more and more, Eggman. What's wrong; old age finally catching up?" Sonic retorted.

"I'll have you know that I am not as old as I look. I-"

"Yeah, we know; you're _way _older," Knuckles smirked.

Dr. Eggman took a breath while Sonic asked the question everyone was wondering at the moment.

"So, what's your 'master plan' this time? It must not be very important. I mean, you haven't bothered to explain yet."

"Tsk, tsk, Sonic. Have you not figured it out? _You _are my plan this time. Why do you think I took the liberty of capturing you?" Dr. Eggman said, a knowing glint in his eye.

"Say what, now?" The hedgehog cocked an eyebrow.

"You heard right, Sonic. This time, my plan will not fail! It _cannot_ fail!" The mad scientist boomed, "I have finally found the one thing that you are powerless against! I found something that even your dearest friends can't help you cope with!"

"And that would be…?" Sonic urged, looking somewhat uninterested.

"Your past."

"Wh-what?" Sonic exclaimed, actually startled by the man. "I-I mean: what're you talking about?"

"You'll see," Dr. Eggman replied darkly, a smile of triumph plastered on his face.

Sonic, Tails, Amy and Knuckles shared glances with each other.

"You don't mean…" Tails started.

"Yes! I have finally created the world's first time machine! I needed some lab rats to test it out on, and I thought you all were the perfect choice. However…" Eggman's giddy moment faltered for a moment, "It still has some bugs, so you won't actually be able to interact with people, but only with inanimate objects. I'll be working on it while you're gone, though, and maybe I can fix that problem."

"But what's the point of going to the past if you can't change it?" Sonic asked.

And suddenly wished he hadn't.

"Why, dear hedgehog, that's the _point_. See you in a few weeks, _rodent!_"

Eggman suddenly pulled a lever on the side of the giant capsule, and everything went white.

* * *

_(Sonic's P.O.V.)_

I blinked my eyes several times after the flash, and suddenly found myself outside. My shackles were gone, as well. Behind me was a small schoolhouse with a playground beside it, and a little ways away were houses lined beside the dirt road.

"Where are we?" Amy asked for the second time.

I didn't answer her; I was staring around at the place I thought I would never see again.

"Sonic?" Tails asked.

"This… This is Knothole, Amy… This is Knothole…" I breathed.

"'Knothole?' Never heard of it," She replied, scratching her head.

"You know this place? It looks run down," Knuckles said, looking around at the empty town.

I snickered, coming out of my trance and looking at my three friends, "Just wait 'till the school bell rings. This town'll be _flooded_ with activity."

"How do you know?" Tails questioned.

"This is where I grew up," I replied, walking up to the old schoolhouse.

"Where're you going?" Amy called, running after me.

"To school," I answered, pushing open the doors.

"What?" All three of my friends asked in unison. I jerked my head towards the inside of the building, and they followed me in. There was a small hallway running down the center of the building, and two rooms on either side of the hallway were the only things there.

I casually walked down the hallway, and turned to the room on the left. There was no door, and when we stepped inside, we were greeted by the voice of an old woman speaking.

"… A. Apple. B. Berry. C. Cat…"

We saw an elderly squirrel writing on the chalkboard behind her, while the children in the desks in the center of the room stared at her quietly.

"Can anyone tell me which letter comes next?" The squirrel asked, turning around.

The small mobians mouthed a little jingle to themselves, and a few hands went up.

"Yes?" The teacher motioned towards a small kitten.

"D! Dog!"

"Good job! Let's continue."

I scanned the room, smiling when I recognized most of the faces.

"Sonic, is that…?" Amy started, pointing to a small hedgehog sitting in the back of the classroom.

"Yep."

"No _way,_" She gaped.

"That's _you?_" Knuckles asked in disbelief. "Man, you were a small kindergartner."

"Not my fault," I retorted, shrugging. I ventured deeper into the classroom and stood beside the small hedgehog's desk. He was fiddling with his pencil, completely oblivious to my presence.

_(Third Person P.O.V.)_

The trio behind Sonic stood a little ways around him, watching the scene unfold.

The small hedgehog, glancing up at the teacher, opened the top of his desk and pulled out his spare pencil. He played with the two of them, not paying one bit of attention to the squirrel anymore.

"Sonic."

Both hedgehogs' heads shot up on reflex, and the younger hid his hands behind his back.

"What's the next letter?" The squirrel asked, crossing her arms.

The younger version of Sonic pinned his ears to his head, looking embarrassed. "Uhm…" He stuttered, "J…?"

Snickers broke out all across the room, and the young hedgehog instantly realized he was wrong.

"Stupid…" The bulldog in the desk beside him snickered to himself.

The older Sonic glared while the younger blushed madly and looked down at his lap.

"We are at P. Can you tell me which letter comes next?" The teacher asked, her patience dwindling as some students around the room giggled at the letter.

The little blue hedgehog quickly did the jingle with some difficulty, and finally answered, "Q…?"

The teacher nodded and turned back to her chalkboard.

The young hedgehog took a sigh of relief and finally put away his pencils.

"Sonic, don't you think we should be looking for a way home instead of learning the alphabet?" Knuckles suddenly snapped, leaning against the wooden wall of the schoolhouse.

"We can't find a way home, Knuckles. We're stuck here until Eggman brings us back, as much as I hate to say it…" Tails replied.

"Actually… I don't mind being here. After all, five year-old Sonic is _adorable_!" Amy giggled.

And indeed he was. The younger Sonic was missing a front tooth, had brown eyes, and actually wore clothes. He wore a red and white t-shirt with dirty ripped jeans to match. The young pup wore no shoes, unlike the other students in the classroom, and Tails briefly wondered about it.

The hero of Mobius was just thankful that none of his friends had noticed the scars yet.

Sonic rolled his eyes and smiled. "C'mon, Knux; school's gonna be over in about ten minutes. And if I remember correctly, today is a day that I can change just _slightly."_

Tails and Amy shared a glance.

"Whatever you're planning in that screwed up head of yours, it's a bad idea. Changing the past even the smallest bit could seriously affect the future," Knuckles tried to reason.

"And how do you know that?"

"That's what happens in the movies," Knuckles shrugged, "So it's good enough for me."

Sonic rolled his eyes and turned back to the smaller hedgehog.

"Seriously, though, Sonic. Don't do anything stupid," Tails said, crossing his arms.

"_Fine…_" Sonic sighed.

When the school bell finally rang, all of the small mobians grabbed their bags from the back of the room and crowded around the door.

"Sonic."

Again, both hedgehogs swung their head around to see Ms. Rosie sitting on her desk with her hands neatly folded in front of her.

"Yes, Ms. Rosie…?" The small hedgehog replied shyly. He walked up to her desk and waited for her to speak.

"Do you have the signature for the fieldtrip tomorrow? You know just as well as I that it was due _yesterday_."

The younger Sonic pinned his ears to his head again, and looked down. "No, Ms. Rosie…"

"I see," She sighed, adjusting her glasses. "And why do you not have it?"

"…"

"Come now, tell me."

"Daddy wouldn't let mommy sign it…" Sonic told her quietly.

"Enough of the lies, Sonic! I talked to your parents this morning and they told me that they didn't even know about the trip!" The squirrel burst, making the little pup jump.

"I'm not lying! Look, I have it right here!" The hedgehog frantically opened his tattered backpack, and he held up a paper that was ripped and had a few stains on it. "See? Mama tried to sign it, but she couldn't! Daddy said no!" Sonic tried to reason.

The teacher gave an exasperated sigh and placed her hand on her forehead. "Sonic, your parents had to sign it regardless if you could go or not. I-"

"That's what I tried to tell them! Daddy wouldn't listen!" The young hedgehog stomped his foot on the ground, _willing_ the elderly squirrel to understand.

"Leave, Sonic. I will have a talk with your father tomorrow."

"But-"

"_Now._"

The small pup's lip started to quiver, and tears started to well up in his big brown eyes. He shook his head desperately.

"Don't tell daddy," He whimpered, "Don't tell daddy…"

The teacher only pointed to the door.

The smaller Sonic picked up his old backpack and left the room.

Rosie removed her glasses from her head and wiped her eyes of the tears that had suddenly formed.

"Why is _she _crying?" Knuckles suddenly asked, interrupting the moment, "You were the one that got in trouble."

Sonic didn't answer. Instead, he followed his younger self outside. The trio chased after him.

"This is how it always was… and then right after I got through with the teacher, I'd come out of the door and have to deal with-"

"Go _away, _Rufus!" A voice yelled.

The four time travelers turned their heads to see a bull dog following the younger Sonic right on his heels.

"Aww, what's wrong, spiny?" The dog teased, "Is someone gonna cry?"

The young pup pinned his ears to his head and walked a bit faster.

"Hey, where'd you get _that_?" Rufus gained a mischievous glint in his eyes as he saw something poke out of Sonic's backpack. He wrenched it off of his back, jerking the hedgehog backwards in the process.

"Hey! Give it back!" Sonic cried, hopelessly trying to snatch his bag back.

"Oooh, this is pretty," The bulldog pulled out a mirror from the tattered bag. "Hey, this looks like… It is! You stole Jessica's mirror!"

Sonic backed away in fear, blushing madly and pinning his ears down.

"Thief!" Rufus barked. The dog chunked the backpack back at Sonic, and the hedgehog barely caught it.

"Thief!" Other children started in on it, and the small hedgehog backed away once again.

A rock was suddenly hurled at the pup, and Sonic yelped in pain as it struck his eye.

The younger version of Sonic bolted away, and the older soon followed.

"Sonic! Wait up!" Amy called, trying to catch the speedy hedgehog.

The blue hero stopped and ran back to the group, shifting uncomfortably.

"Bullied much?" Knuckles asked, a bit startled after watching the scene.

Despite the subject, Sonic chuckled and rubbed his head. "Yeah… I wasn't the most popular guy in school."

"And the stealing?" Tails chimed.

"Uhm… I didn't know any better…?" Sonic tried, and failed, to convince them. His friends gave him a deadpan. "Okay, fine. You'll find out in a second, now follow me."

With that, he jogged off at a pace the others could keep up with. They eventually left the outskirts of the small village, and arrived at a lone house deep in the woods.

The house was wooden, and was clearly not properly taken care of. The front yard was littered with metal objects, glass, paper, and numerous other hazards. There was an old, rusty, orange pickup truck near the front of the house, and two bicycles resting by the entrance of the rundown home.

"Watch your step…" Sonic muttered, stepping around the yard, avoiding bear traps and other obstacles that had been carelessly tossed to the side. The group made it to the front door, and quietly stepped inside, as to not alarm anyone of the door suddenly opening and closing.

The inside of the house was worse than the outside. Clothes were scattered all across the floor as well as trash and the occasional glass bottle and pill container. From what could be seen, the flooring throughout the house was all wood, and the walls were all painted a sickly grey. A strong, musky smell filled the house, so thick it made one want to gag.

Tails acknowledged this by promptly having a coughing fit.

"…and then he took it and they threw rocks at me…" A small voice was heard from their left, and they all looked to the living room.

The younger version of Sonic was sitting beside another hedgehog on their stained, ripped couch. She was the same shade of blue as her son, and she had dazzling emerald eyes. Her quills were about the same length as Amy's, and she wore a green tank top and black shorts. Scars, cuts and bruises decorated her body, and she wore a studded collar around her neck, as well as matching bracelets.

"…That's how I got the black eye…" He finished.

"Be more careful next time, Sonic… You know your father isn't going to be happy about this…" The female hedgehog told him sadly, gently placing her hand on the young one's face and rubbing the damaged eye with her thumb.

The younger Sonic nodded, tears welling up in his eyes again.

"Hey, now. Don't cry," The woman soothed, wiping his tears away. "Crying is a weakness, and when someone finds a weakness-"

"'_-They use it against you…'_ I know, mama…" The young pup finished for her.

"That's my boy," Sonic's mother smiled, giving him a brief hug.

"Wow… Her parenting methods are… _different_…" Amy said carefully after seeing the distant look on Sonic's face.

The hero snorted and replied, "So were my dad's."

The trio behind him blinked at his sudden change of tone.

"Go to your room and play, Sonic. I have to get dinner ready or your father is going to have a fit," Sonic's mother stood from the couch and made her way into the kitchen.

"So this is where you lived, huh? How long was it before you moved out?" Knuckles asked, taking another good look around the place in slight interest.

"More like 'kicked out,'" Sonic chuckled to himself, "Um… I lived here 'till I was about… six or seven, maybe?" Sonic shrugged, "Somewhere around that age."

"'Kicked out?' What do you mean?" Tails asked, his eyes showing a bit of confusion.

Sonic waved him off.

"Don't worry about it, Tails; I was joking," Sonic replied, smirking.

The sound of the door opening and closing caught the four time travelers' attention.

Sonic absentmindedly stepped aside as the figure, yet _another_ hedgehog, entered the house and passed by him.

"I'm back, Blue!" The golden hedgehog shouted throughout the house.

The hedgehog had a golden pelt, and was built the exact same as Sonic. The hedgehog had a gruff voice, and he wore only grey gloves and blue shoes. He had piercing, crimson eyes, and scars more apparent than Sonic's mother. The most notable scars were the one running across his eye and the three cuts on his right side.

"I don't smell dinner!" The golden hedgehog suddenly barked after a brief sniff.

"I just started, Gold!" Sonic's mother called from the kitchen.

"Were those your parents' names?" Amy asked, "Blue and Gold?"

"Yeah—Well, sort of. That was their cover names. My mom's real name was Heather," Sonic explained.

"What about your dad? What was his real name?" Tails asked.

"He never told me."

"Oh."

The trio behind Sonic gave each other a glance.

"Get your tail off the couch, Cobalt. How many times do I have to tell you?" Gold suddenly snapped at the pup.

"Sorry, daddy," Sonic squeaked, scrambling off of the furniture.

"Go to your room; I don't feel like puttin' up with you today," The golden hedgehog pointed down the hallway, and the younger hedgehog let his ears droop while he sauntered off.

"Wait."

The young pup froze, knowing he was caught.

"Come here."

The hedgehog did.

"What happened… to your _eye_…?" Gold hissed.

"R-Rufus threw a rock at m-me today…" Sonic hiccupped, starting to get worked up.

"_Why?_"

"H-he… Um… H-he caught me st-"

The pup was smacked across the face. He yelped in pain and stumbled backwards.

Amy gasped, and Tails in Knuckles gave a look of shock. The older Sonic just shook his head and looked away.

Gold stalked up to the pup, towering over him.

"You got _caught?_" Gold growled, "You do realize that everything you don't bring home, doesn't put food on the table, right?!"

The younger Sonic whimpered, trying to hold back tears, but was failing miserably.

"_Answer me!_" Gold suddenly smacked the boy across the face again, and this time he fell to the ground. "_Do you realize that whatever you don't bring home doesn't get you dinner?!" _Gold boomed.

"Y-yes…"

"_What?!_"

"_Yes!_" Sonic cried out, turning into a trembling heap on the floor.

"I'm glad we see eye to eye." Gold's anger suddenly vanished, as he pointed to the hedgehog's room again, and watched the pup scramble down the hallway. The golden hedgehog turned to the kitchen, suddenly meeting eyes with his mate, and snarled at her. "What're _you_ starin' at?! Get back in there and fix dinner!"

Blue turned around again and went deeper into the kitchen. Gold was left by himself, and he gave an exasperated sigh. After muttering to himself for a bit, he fetched himself a drink and plopped down on the couch.

"…Wow…" Was all Amy could say, which was more than Knuckles and Tails.

"Now I understand why Eggman wanted to send us back to this time period…" Sonic muttered, "This was the hardest time of my life…"

"Sonic… I'm _so_ s-"

"'Sorry?' Don't be. There were tons of other kids that had it worse than me," Sonic interrupted Amy.

There was somewhat of an awkward silence after that, until Knuckles remembered something.

"I heard your dad call you 'Cobalt'; what was up with that?" He asked.

Sonic chuckled and answered, "Cobalt's my real name; Sonic's just my nickname."

"Are you serious? _I_ didn't even know that," Tails exclaimed.

Sonic just shrugged, "I like 'Sonic' way better than 'Cobalt.' It suits me better."

"So, how did you get your nickname?" Knuckles asked, and was soon deadpanned by Amy, Tails and Sonic. "Right… Um… Let me rephrase that… Who _started_ calling you 'Sonic?'"

"My mom. We were playing tag one day, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch me. She kept saying that I 'must have sonic speed,' and it just kind of stuck with me, I guess," Sonic explained, a bit shy about the subject. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ah, okay," Amy nodded. "So why doesn't your dad call you that?"

Sonic shrugged again, "I dunno. I mean, he barely bothered calling me by my real name to begin with."

"Dinner's ready!" Suddenly rang from the kitchen, and Gold grabbed his beer bottle and headed for the wooden table in said room.

The young Sonic tentatively came out of his room and quietly walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, I don't think so. Git' your tail back in there, ya' spoil't brat," Gold hissed, shoving Sonic back towards his room.

"Gold, he hasn't eaten dinner in three days, let him eat with us for once," Blue said, grabbing Sonic's arm as he turned to leave.

"I have, and he's a complete slob!" Gold exclaimed.

"What do you care? _I'm_ the one that cleans the messes around here!" Blue argued.

"_Hah!_" Gold scoffed, "_'Cleans the messes?!' _This whole _house_ is a mess!"

"And it _wouldn't_ be if you would just help me for an hour or so!"

"_Don't order me around!_" Gold snarled, coming to meet Blue in the face.

"I _wasn't!_ I'm just saying-"

"I don't _care_ what you have to say! What matters is what _I_ say! And _I_ _say, _make the brat go back to his room!" Gold interrupted, wrenching Sonic from Blue's grip, in the process making the pup squeak in pain.

"He's hungry, Gold! Let the child eat, _for Chaos' sake!_"

"He could _starve_, for all I care!"

Blue gasped, and rage suddenly flooded her emotions. "He's your _son, _you ungrateful _rat!_" She burst, balling her hands into fists.

"No, he's _your _son! I never wanted him in the _first place! _You call _me _what you want, but this thing you call a hedgehog can't even pass kindergarten! I mean, _seriously,_ it's literally the easiest grade _ever!_"

Gold was promptly socked in the nose. He released his grasp on Sonic, whom was trembling in fear by now.

"_He can't pass it, because he doesn't have a father to help him learn!_" Blue screeched, clutching the nearest thing by her, and chunking it at Gold.

The object was ironically a plate of steak and potatoes.

"There's your _dinner_ you so desperately wanted!" Blue spat.

Gold snarled and smacked Blue, turning her sideways and making her stumble into the wall. He pinned her there, baring his teeth.

"You _really_ want to die, don't you?" Gold hissed.

"_Try_ _me._" Blue gasped through her pain.

Gold frowned and threw her into the counter, which effectively made something in her hip crack. She cried out and fell to the floor, clutching her left side.

Satisfied that his partner would be out of the way, he turned back to the trembling pup.

"Now look what you did. All because you were _hungry._"

That alone made all physical abuse seem so much better.

Sonic's friends looked shell-shocked, and when they turned to talk to their friend, he just shook his head and avoided their gaze.

"Wait for it…" He muttered.

Gold suddenly struck his son with the glass bottle he had miraculously held onto throughout the entire ordeal, and the bottle shattered across the boy's head.

Sonic cried out as the impact had spun him clear 'round, and he collapsed onto the floor, dazed and half-conscious.

Gold grumbled under his breath, bent down, and wrenched the pup off of the ground by the scruff of his neck. He carried him to his room and flung Sonic onto his bed before slamming the door shut.

"And you thought my mom was weird," Sonic scoffed to no one in particular. He jumped when someone suddenly pulled him into a hug, and he looked to see Amy. She had tears in her eyes, but she was trying to be strong. Sonic smiled fondly and returned her hug.

"_How_…? How could someone do that to someone so innocent…?" Amy asked, not really expecting an answer. She soon released Sonic from her hug, and he abruptly turned towards the door.

"We should go and find somewhere to rest. And find something to eat. I know a market not too far from here, and an old warehouse we could find some mattresses in.

The group nodded and followed him as they exited the house.

"And whatever you do, don't look back," Sonic suddenly told them, pinning his ears to his head. Not really knowing what he meant, they filed behind him through the littered yard.

"What do you me-" Tails was interrupted.

A scream suddenly split through the air, and everyone jumped. Sonic cringed, knowing what was happening, and knowing he couldn't do anything about it.

"Don't look…" Sonic muttered again.

His friends, although utterly curious, obeyed.

And it's a good thing they did, because what they would have seen would have made even Knuckles cringe in disgust. Through the window that allowed one to view the kitchen, two hedgehogs were seen.

One was blue.

One was gold.

The golden hedgehog's hand raised his baseball bat above his head.

The blue hedgehog's hands tried in vain to shield her face.

The golden hedgehog swung the bat downwards, and the blue hedgehog cried out in pain once again.

Sonic was glad he was in front of all his friends.

He didn't want them to see the wetness his eyes had slowly gained.

**_To Be Continued..._**

* * *

_**NEW STOREH!**_

_**ERRM MEH GURSH!**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Forgotten Memories…**_

_**Chapter One**_

_**By: Soniclover28**_

"…And this is the market. So, yeah; that's about all of it," Sonic finished, clasping his hands together and turning to his friends.

They nodded in acknowledgment, gazing around at the seemingly old-fashioned town. Dozens of stands selling goods were lined on the side of the dirt road—or path. The area was somewhat busy with mobians rushing towards the stands before they closed. Not many people owned a watch, so most of the stands closed after the sun disappeared over the horizon.

"Cool, so where's the warehouse we're staying in?" Knuckles asked, eyeing a stand that sold watermelons for only thirty cents per melon.

"Oh, it's about a mile's walk from here. We can get some supplies here, first, and then we can head over there," Sonic replied, walking deeper into the marketplace. "I can just buy a few blankets, and-" He stopped short when he realized something.

Sonic moved his hands away from the stand that sold quilts, and turned back to the others, looking sheepish.

"Right… We can't buy anything because we can't interact with people…"

"What do you mean? Can't you just leave some rings on the counter and take what you need?" Tails asked, his namesakes swishing in curiosity.

"I don't…really…have any money…" Sonic answered, rubbing the back of his head.

"_You_ don't have any rings? Sonic, even _I_ have a few," Knuckles said, crossing his arms.

Sonic shook his head. "They don't use rings here in Knothole, Knux; they use coins and dollars. We picked it up from the humans a long time ago, seeing as how the rings weren't exactly worth anything at the time, and trading wasn't working too well."

"Oh," Knuckles blinked, immediately feeling dumb. "Then I guess we'll just borrow what we need, and-"

"We're not stealing, Knuckles," Sonic interrupted, stepping out of the way as someone almost passed through him.

"It's not stealing if we give it back," He argued childishly.

Sonic gave him a deadpan, "Knuckles, the people that live here work hard for what they have. Taking it could seriously hurt them."

"Guys?" Tails suddenly chimed in after glancing around.

"Not if we just take a _little_ bit of something."

"Quit being selfish; you seriously want to _steal _from innocent people? I thought you were the good guy."

"Guys…" Tails tried again when his first call went unnoticed.

"I'm not being selfish, Sonic! But I at least need some fresh food every once in a while!" Knuckles took a step forward.

"There are berries and herbs out in the woods; you're good at scavenging, why don't you go do that?" Sonic stepped towards the echidna, as well.

"Guys," Tails raised his voice a bit in urgency.

"You said it yourself; it's a mile away! I'm not one to beg, but I need food; I haven't eaten in days!"

"Knuckles, you probably ate right before you got caught."

"I was hunting for the emeralds when Eggman found me! I was in the plains, and hardly any food grows there; you know that!"

"Guys, Amy's missing."

_This_ caught they're attention.

"What?" They asked in unison.

"What do you mean, 'missing'? We can't touch other people, so she couldn't have been kidnapped," Knuckles said, glancing to Sonic for a reply.

However, the hedgehog was staring in horror as the pink hedgehog that was 'missing' was currently at a stand that sold cheap, but beautiful, jewelry. Amy was slipping on necklace after necklace; bracelet after bracelet.

She was completely oblivious to the woman in the stand staring at her with giant eyes.

"Amy, what are you _doing?!_" Sonic exclaimed, making the pink hedgehog jump and drop the jade pendant she was holding.

"Sonic, all of this is so beautiful! And it's so cheap!" Amy explained, picking up the pendant she had dropped.

This made the owner of the stand gasp in horror, and she backed away.

"Ghost…" The elder badger exclaimed, "_Ghost!_"

The entire market burst into chaos at that.

"It's _floating!_"

"Black magic!"

"Mama, I'm scared!"

"Amy, put the stuff _back!_" Sonic yelled over the overlapping voices, losing his friend from sight. He couldn't help but feel dizzy as more people came into the area.

The pink hedgehog hastily took all of the jewelry off, and quickly ran through—yes, _through_—the crowd of people around the stand.

"I'm sorry! I thought that once I touched it, it became invisible, too," Amy panted as she met up with her friends.

"Amy, that was a stupid thing to do! What if that seriously affects something in the future?!" Tails scolded.

Sonic's head was starting to throb slightly.

"It's just one stand, what could it possibly do?" Amy defended herself.

All four of their heads swung around when someone shouted, "These items are cursed with dark magic! We must get rid of them all!"

A fire was suddenly lit and all of the beautiful jewelry was thrown into the flames. The badger that had crafted the objects herself was burying her face in her hands.

Sonic winced when a headache hit him hard.

Amy placed her hands over mouth in shock, unable to take her eyes off of the now burning jewelry stand.

Knuckles was glaring at Amy.

Tails had glanced at Sonic, who was now holding his head.

"Sonic? Are you okay?" Tails asked, seeing as his brother was starting to sway.

"Yeah… Y-yeah, I'm fine…" Sonic hissed his words out in pain as something in his temples were starting feel as if someone were hammering them.

Tails, knowing better than to trust those weak words, placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder just in time for him to stumble backwards.

"Hey, let me help you," Tails said in genuine worry. Knuckles had looked away from Amy at this point, and helped Tails steady the swaying hedgehog.

"What's wrong?" The echidna asked, creasing his eyebrows.

"N-nothing, it's… It's just my head…" Sonic replied without parting his teeth. He lost his footing and fell back into Knuckles and Tails' arms, still holding his head in pain.

"Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, just barely supporting him as he fell. The echidna and fox gently lowered him all the way to the ground so that he was in a sitting position. The blue hedgehog suddenly gasped sat stiff straight, no longer needing the support of his friends.

"They're changing…" He breathed.

"What?"

"Th-the memories… they're changing…!" Sonic exclaimed in bewilderment. He lowered his hands from his head, staring blankly at the burning jewelry stand.

"I don't remember it anymore…" Sonic whispered, slowly standing up.

"What do you mean? Sonic, if you said 'it', you know what you're talking about," Tails said, not smartly, but quizzically.

Sonic shook his head.

"I saw it a few times before it burned… I-I think a few years from now I got my mother something from that stand… I think…" Sonic replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Really? What'd you get her?" Amy asked curiously.

"What'd I get who?" Sonic blinked at her.

"Your mom. What did you get her from that stand?" Amy restated, starting to grow concerned at the blue hedgehog's behavior.

"You mean that one?" Sonic pointed to the jewelry stand in flames. "I never got a chance to get her anything. It got set on fire because some people claimed that it was haunted. I never really understood what they were thinking," Sonic chuckled.

Tails, Knuckles, and Amy were staring in bewilderment at the blue hedgehog, now.

"You mean… You don't remember what just happened…?" Tails asked, dumbfounded.

Now Sonic was the one confused.

"Did I miss something…?"

"But Amy, she just-! Yes, you missed something!" Knuckles burst.

Sonic blinked again, his emerald gaze shifting from Knuckles, Amy, to Tails.

"I think I know what happened," Tails announced, crossing his arms. "Sonic said that a few years from now he got his mom something from that stand. Amy just erased it. Sonic never got the gift. And now, Sonic can't remember it because it technically never happened."

"So you're saying that I just changed Sonic's memory…?" Amy asked, not liking the answer she was going to get.

"Yes."

"Then why didn't it affect any of us? Why didn't some weird 'time paradox' happen?" Knuckles questioned.

Tails shrugged, "I guess we just got lucky."

"So, Eggman was wrong…" Sonic finally spoke, earning his friends' attention, "We _can_ change the past…"

"Oh, boy," Knuckles face-palmed, "I wonder if anything changed in the future…"

Tails shrugged, "The best we can do now is try not to cause any more scenes. Amy, no more touching anything unless Sonic says it's okay. Same to you, Knuckles."

"Right," they both nodded.

"Let's get going. There are berries in the woods near the warehouse; we can find something there," Sonic suggested, already turning around and walking down the dirt road.

* * *

"My plan is coming together perfectly! _Ahhahahaha! _This is splendid!" Dr. Eggman laughed, standing from his hover chair. He stared at the giant monitor before him, and watched as Sonic lead his other three friends into a warehouse. "At this rate, nothing can stand in my way!"

* * *

**Me: Sorry, I know its short, but school has started, and I hardly have any time on the computer. Sorry for slow updates ^^;**


	3. Chapter 2

Forgotten Memories…

Chapter two

By: Soniclover28

* * *

Sonic slowly opened his eyes to a gloved hand shaking him awake.

"Wha…?" He slurred, and peeled his face from the sandy ground beneath him.

Wait…

Sandy…?

Sonic blinked his eyes open, grimacing when he tasted sand and spit it out hastily.

"Augh—_pleh,_" Sonic continued to rid his mouth of the taste, and looked around to see that Tails had roused him. His ears pricked to voices—voices that weren't his friends'. He saw Knuckles and Amy standing just in the view of the source of the sound.

And then he smelled it…

…Crisp, cool, clean…and deadly.

Water.

The sand, the smell, the sounds of splashing not far off—they were definitely at a beach.

Sonic stood up, brushing the sand out of his pelt, and brushed past his friends to get a better look at the scene.

It was the little Sonic, his mother, and another Mobian that looked to be walrus-like.

"Is that…?" Sonic breathed, and he couldn't help but walk closer to the trio of playing Mobians. Even twenty feet away, he could recognize him perfectly.

The purple blubber, the turquoise eyes, and the two tusks hanging from his mouth—it _was _him!

"That's _Rotor_!" Sonic exclaimed, and did a little jump in the air. He turned to his friends, pointing to the water and its inhabitants. "You guys, that's _Rotor_! Tails, you—you would have _loved _him! He's like, crazy smart, and —and he's an awesome dude, he—"

"Whoa, whoa," Knuckles interrupted, and put up his hands. He couldn't help but smirk, however. "Slow down, there, 'hog. How do you know him?"

"He was my best friend, back in the day," Sonic chuckled. "_Man_, I can't believe it's him."

Tails and Amy couldn't help but smile—Sonic was absolutely beaming.

Miraculously, Sonic walked even closer to the water, much to his friends' surprise. Knuckles, Tails, and Amy were right behind him, and now they could hear the pups' conversation on the shore.

"C'mon, Rotor, one more time—please?" Little Sonic asked, clasping his gloveless hands together.

"Fine. But this is the last time, Sonic," Rotor said, and turned his back to the little hedgehog. Rotor, even for his obvious young age, towered over the little hedgehog that came up to his chest.

"_Yes_!" Sonic pumped his fist, and watched as Rotor crawled into the water on his belly, just deep enough for his head to poke above the surface. The little hedgehog blinked his big brown eyes and gingerly stepped on Rotor's back. He laid down on him, holding on tight to his shoulders.

"Ready?"

"Ready," Little Sonic chirped, and seemed to brace himself.

With that, Rotor's hind flippers dug at the ground and propelled him forwards. A deep intake of breath was heard, and Rotor dived underwater with Sonic in tow.

"Whoa—you just got in!" Knuckles pointed into the water, and looked to see a smirking Sonic. He merely shrugged with his arms crossed, and watched fondly as Little Sonic's quills poked out of the water as the two friends went farther from the shore. The little hedgehog lifted his head out of the water and took another breath, and then the walrus dived out of view.

The mother of the blue hedgehog was off of her beach towel now, lifting the sunglasses from her eyes as she watched the surface of the water. She looked about ready to jump in when something broke the surface, and joyous laughter was heard. Blue smiled and shook her head, and sat back down on her towel.

The little Sonic and Rotor came back to the shore, and the hedgehog hopped off of Rotor's back. He shook himself like a wet dog, smiling all the way.

"Haha, thanks, bro!" The wet rodent beamed his front-toothless smile.

"No problem," Rotor smirked back, and came out of the water as well. His thick, clawed flipper-like hand rose up to give Sonic a high-five, and the hedgehog happily obliged.

"Now, it's your turn," Rotor gestured to the open lake, and the hedgehog suddenly pinned his ears back.

"N-no—somethin's gonna come up and get me, I know it," The brown-eyed hedgehog shook his head.

"C'mon—Fearless, remember? It's just water. And, like, we were just at the bottom—there's nothing there," The walrus urged.

"I-I don't want to, Rotor," Sonic exclaimed, and his face started turning a shade of red.

"Honey, you promised. You don't break promises," Blue intervened. "And we're right here," The mother continued, adjusting her bikini, "We'll jump in if you fall, m'kay?"

"Okay…" The little hedgehog sighed, and paced a little ways from them.

"Haha, watch this," The bigger Sonic—the one who had been smiling from ear-to-to the whole time—laughed in excitement.

The pup of a hedgehog suddenly sprinted on the sand, kicking it up and making the whole group shield themselves. He ran faster and faster at the edge of the water, eventually becoming a blur. Rotor and Blue started cheering, urging the hedgehog to perform his stunt.

And the pup did it.

The little Sonic was on the other side of the lake when the storm of kicked up sand behind him was replaced with water. He lapped the lake, and when he came by the group again, everyone was appalled.

He was running on the surface of the water. When he passed, an exhilarated laugh filled the air, and the four time travelers couldn't help but cheer for the pup, now.

The older Sonic was watching with longing eyes, twitching in place—shifting on his feet as if he needed to move.

Tails smirked when he saw this. "Go ahead, Sonic; we'll be here when you get back."

"_Whoo-hoooo_!" Pierced the air as the Hero of Mobius bolted away from the water and into the lush forest hiding the lake. Snapping twigs and rustling leaves were all that was left of the hedgehog when his friends glanced behind him.

"What the heck?" Knuckles asked, throwing his hands up into the air. "Where's he going?"

"For a run," Tails answered simply, shrugging, and sitting down on the beach. "He needed it."

A loud _boom _was suddenly heard, and, across the lake, a cluster of trees were bending over due to what seemed like wind, and Amy couldn't help but smile.

"He sure did."

* * *

After an hour, Sonic came back, just like he always does.

"Feet, I love you so much," Sonic cooed as he trotted back onto the beach where his friends were.

"And I'm sure they love you, too," Knuckles said. He hadn't even looked to see who it was, just continued lying on the sand with his hands crossed behind his head.

Tails and Amy laughed and gave him a wave, and turned their gazes back to the younger Sonic and his friend and mother.

"So, what'd I miss?" Sonic and plopped down on the sand beside where the fox and hedgehog were.

"Not much," Tails shrugged. "Just watching them play, heh."

"It's so weird to think that that was you," Amy said, gesturing to the little hedgehog currently wrapped up in a beach towel that threatened to swallow him. "You were so tiny."

"Not to mention less annoying," Knuckles grunted.

Sonic rolled his eyes, but Amy continued on.

"And your little voice was so sweet," She said in an '_aww' _type of tone.

"Yeah, I-I guess so," Sonic replied, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. This was worse than someone going through an old baby album.

"And your little ears twitch just like they still do!" Amy squealed, watching as the little hedgehog did so when a butterfly fluttered around his ear.

Said insect then landed on the pup's nose, and he sneezed, and Rotor and Blue laughed.

"Okay, well, as stupid as this is, we need to get back to business, here. How'd we wake up on the beach, anyways?" Knuckles cut in, unintentionally saving Sonic from blushing.

"I've been wondering that, too; and here's what I've come up with," Tails responded, crossing his arms in thought. "I think this, for some reason, is the next point in time Eggman wanted us to visit. Somehow he's controlling when he wants us to time travel whenever he feels the need to. Which doesn't make sense; because, how did he know that this particular day at this particular place would be a day your younger self would be so that we could…watch…"

Tails drifted off in his rant as he beheld the uncomprehending faces in front of him. The twin-tailed fox sighed.

"For some reason, Eggman knew Little Sonic would be at the lake today. So, he made us travel in time _and _placed us at the lake," Tails tried again.

"And that's weird because…?" Amy blinked.

Tails pinched the skin above his nose.

"The question is—_how _did Eggman know that Little Sonic would be at the lake today with Rotor and his mom?"

"_Ooh_."

"Yeah, that's a good question," Knuckles said, pointing to Tails and nodding his head.

Tails threw up his hands in defeat.

"So, anyways, what do we do, now?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know that, either—my guess is to just go along with whatever the memory is and try not to change anything," The fox answered, and the gang seemed to accept this.

So, as Blue, Little Sonic, and Rotor dried off and left the beach behind, the current Sonic and his team followed at a distance, careful not to alert them of the many sticks and leaves rustling when they walked.

* * *

Dr. Eggman cackled and, by now, was howling with laughter at the monitor. He watched as Sonic, Amy, Knuckles and Tails trudged through the forest hiding Knothole while they followed Sonic's past counterpart.

"How idiotic _are _they?!" He boomed in laughter. "All I need now is for one of them to screw up—trip on a root and make that rat of a mother look behind her, or something! At this point, any change would do! Oh, this is absolutely delicious, Cubot!" The mad scientist stroked his mustache, with a grin of a shark, and his glasses gleamed in the light of his laboratory.

"Well, sure, as shootin', doc! This here plan's fine as a fiddle!" The yellow square robot rooted, placing his fists on his hips.

Dr. Eggman's smile curled into a frown as he glared down to his lackey.

"It's '_fit as a fiddle' _you blasted, broken robot," the egg-shaped doctor growled, "And when did your voice chip switch to western again?!"

Dr. Eggman shook his head and stood from his hover chair.

"Never mind that—I have a city to level," He said, and grinned again as he strode out of the room, his boots clicking with every high step he took.

* * *

"Where is that Faker when you need him?!" Shadow growled, as he dodged another shower of bullets sent from the new robot Eggman had sent into Mobotropolis. The ebony hedgehog knew the robot had been built by Dr. Eggman due to the purple logo stamped on the head of the serpent-like robot.

"I'm surprise you miss him, Shadow," Rouge commented, landing beside him and eyeing the robot.

"Normally I wouldn't," Shadow growled, hurling a chunk of concrete that had broken from a laser blast at the robot. "But desperate times call for desperate measures. Look."

Shadow pointed to the sky, where Dr. Eggman's Egg Carrier hovered above the city, hundreds of robots dropping from the bottom of the giant ship.

"Is there anyone else we could call? What about that fox or Knuckles?" Rouge suggested, leaping from where she was standing when a laser zoomed towards her.

"I've tried contacting them—they won't answer," Shadow admitted, and curled up to perform a spin-dash on the serpent robot in front of him. It finally tore to shreds, and Shadow dusted off his hands, turning back to Rouge. He could already hear the city's sirens going off and people screaming in the distance.

"We're on our own."


End file.
